Heart of a Warrior
by GoldenTrioT615
Summary: By day, she hid beneath a facade created to cover up her real personality. The mask was that of the 'knowitall' bookworm that never missed an opportunity to answer a question, even if it was not asked to her. Yet by night, she had become masked and marked
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:** I am in no way affiliated with JK and i give all of the credit for this to her. Though the plot and maybe later a few characters are mine.. but don't listen to me! REA D REVIEW! PLEASE?**_

_

* * *

_

_Silent as the summer breeze_

_the time slips slowly past_

_and i watch in conceited regret_

_the moments fade from view_

_now as the hour closes softly_

_i seek redemption for my mistakes_

_to do what i may_

_to retrieve a just reward_

_for the efforts you place to front_

_and lay at your feet the quiet success of me_

She quietly sat, one leg dangling out the window of her bedroom's sill. pen in hand, cradling her notebook, neatly penning her thoughts in the only way she could convey them. A sweet sight it would be to look up from the distant ground to see a young girl with her hair pulled back in a loose pony tail, wearing her long brown lounge pants and a blinding white tank top shirt silently letting the day go by. The common person would view this as normal, yet this young girl was much more than that. Her name was Hermione Ann Granger, and she was anything but an ordinary girl. She lead a double life, and thought nothing of herself. The sacrifices made, were only a part of living a life full of deception and pain in the hope of creating a world of peace for the entire wizarding world.. To save the one person who could save them all. Her best friend.

By day, she hid beneath a facade created to cover up her real personality. The mask was that of the 'know-it-all' bookworm that never missed an opportunity to answer a question, even if it was not asked to her. Yet by night, she had become a, masked, marked, and cloaked warrior, salvaging every piece of information learned to aid the side of the light. Working every hour of the day doing research that was inconspicuous, and training during the evenings. And still she writes...

_A true purpose in life contains dilemma, toil, angst, pain, loss, and false security. It is never easy, but only is it so hard that you can hardly go on. Then only after does purpose change to destiny._

Slamming shut her notebook and throwing it along with her pen onto the floor of her bedroom, Hermione tried to take out her anger. Knowing that it would not be near enough to tear apart the only thing that held her together, she quickly changed clothes into something more adequate and put on her running shoes. It was time for an intense workout. '_Five miles should do it I think_,' she pondered to herself. Leaving a quick note to her parents she took off down the street and a fast paced jog hoping to burn away all of the tears that threatened to escape her eyes. It just would not do for a master spy for the Order of the Phoenix to cry like a small child. She took on this burden and was determined to fulfill her duties.

Just last night had been a meeting that could help shape the course of the war. She had finally been given the okay, to pursue Draco Malfoy in an attempt to get closer to his father. And then, to weave her way into the death eaters ranks. Most of her Professor's thought that she was out of her mind, in making such an attempt, but quite frankly; she didn't care. The fact that the Order needed another spy among the death eaters to gain more information meant that she could prove herself to them. The most important thing though, was to give Harry every advantage possible in his fight with the Dark Lord.

She had begun self training for this as soon as the news was announced to the 'inner circle' of the Order. Working on becoming stronger both emotionally and physically. The torment she was currently putting herself through was only the beginning. The only hard part with continuing further was the fact that she could no longer do anything to better herself on her own. She would need help, and who better to help her than the only other person who knew what spying on Lord Voldemort was like. Severus Snape. They had sorted out their differences and put aside childish matters to work on the more important one. For the moment. They had worked out a type of treaty, and so far it seemed to be working quite well. Though he was still as starky and severe as ever, they had begun what some would say a 'friendship' others a distinct acquaintance. Even though they had set things to the side that they held disagreements over she was still afraid to actually ask him for help.

Rounding the corner on the sidewalk Hermione hit the three mile marker, and turned to head home. Only, she would not be reaching her destination in under the estimated time she had set for herself.. A resounding 'CRACK' could be heard from a distance, and She knew what that meant. Apparition. Someone that possessed magic had just arrived. She went into safety mode. Slowly turning, she saw out of the corner of her eye, the most unlikely person imaginable was standing a few blocks away with a look of confusion on his face. 'At least this saves me a trip,' thought Hermione. She turned around fully and started moving closer to him, pretending to have not seen him, she started jogging again. He looked up only when she was ten feet from him. Eyes widened for a moment on both persons in reaction to what they were seeing. A flabbergasted Professor Snape looked at this young woman with confused interest. Then he spoke, "Miss Granger? What would you be doing away from your dwelling? Especially in the current circumstances."

"I was simply going for a run. Is there something wrong with that Professor?" Hermione looked slightly surprised, but pleasantly so all the same. It was unusual to see the dark and brooding potions master out of his black robes. And to add to that, His hair was definably not greasy. It was half way pulled back, and he was wearing black slacks with a dark green button up shirt. Only the smirk on his pale face caused her to remember his harsh personality.

"One would think that if there was a madman out there looking to kill mudbloods you might be on the list for his fun, but no! Your friends with the amazing Harry Potter! Nothing can hurt you! Of course Miss Granger, there is something wrong with that! Now, if you would please follow me, there is business to be dealt with."

Though Hermione had held a normal composure for the time, suspicion was never out of the question. "Hold on, first off, what is this 'business' that we must attend to that could not have been discussed properly before hand? Or in a letter maybe? Secondly, _Professor, _if you would please state the password? Even for just my peace of mind. If not, I will not be accompanying you any place."

"Password Miss Granger? What are we up to now? You know for a fact that there has been no password set for any interactions held between you and I, but if you will not come on your own will, it will be by force!" The professor attempted to grab Hermione by the wrist; luckily, all of her reflex training had come in handy. She quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted him so his back was facing her. and she immediately put him under a leg locker curse to keep him from advancing any further. "Miss Granger! Unbind me at once! I am mot to be treated with such little respect!"

Smiling with satisfaction, she let go of his arm. And with a flick of her wand the curse was lifted. "Sir, I do this with the hope that you intend no harm, but if any is bestowed upon me, trust yourself in knowing that you may be left with, or without in this case, a very important, shall we say, appendage."

"Most certainly." Though her defenses were not completely non-existent at the moment, Snape took the opportunity that had presented its self and took her by the upper arm and with a swift motion pulled a long, sharp dagger out from a holster in his robes. "Now, as I said before, _Hermione _if you would please follow me." She let out a shrill scream and before anyone could turn to see what the noise was about he had apparated them away.

Hidden in a nearby ally a young Harry Potter stood, confused and afraid. Of course, Hermione had no idea he had been watching over her when she ventured out alone, but the abruptness of the attack left him without the time to even make a move to save her. "Damn." He whispered into the silence. "I knew he was a deceiving bastard from the first time I saw him." Quickly and with much haste Harry turned on the spot, and disappeared.

_At Headquarters..._

As Hermione and Severus arrived they were both trying to hold in laughs. Since the house was empty they went down to the kitchen to set on some tea. Both were surprised to find a patient Albus Dumbledore sitting in a plush wing backed chair drinking hot chocolate.

"Ahh, Severus, Miss Granger! I was wondering when you would arrive? Everything has gone as planned I presume?"

Severus was the first to reply. "Quite well Albus. Though I think we gave Potter quite a scare."

"Yes, I daresay we did. I wasn't too surprised to see him watching me, just because he always does, but I do think someone should find a way to restrain him from doing that. It could turn nasty. Especially with his hero complex, though I do think we put on quite a show. He'll be scared that something horrible has happened to me. So I think someone should go find him. Preferably Remus?"

"Your wish is my command Miss Granger." Albus replied swiftly, then stood to his feet and strode from the room.

Severus was watching and wondering at how all of this could happen so quickly. He remembered like it was only yesterday, the frizzy haired girl walking through the school, documenting intricate details about corridors and statues. He always thought she would attempt to write a new version of 'Hogwarts: A history' that entailed descriptions of even the stone walls and floors. But now things were different. She was no longer a frizzy child that needed be watched or babysat. She was turning into quite the young woman. Even if he couldn't state it out loud. It was becoming fact for the rest of the Order. They all treated her with some long due respect and were quite at her disposal.

"Severus." Hermione quipped with an air of nonchalance. Though her acting skills were quite up to par, he could still see through her eyes. She wanted, or rather needed something, and was afraid to ask.

He replied with a simple, "Yes Miss Granger?"

"Oh please! Don't call me that when we aren't in class. It's so bothersome. And I needed to ask you a favor." She said this with a nervous look to the door, and then met his gaze.

"And that would be? Hermione?" He stated like it was of no consequence.

"Well- I sort of, you know… Need a bit of help in training, Ju- Just because I don't know where to go from here. I need someone to help me with mental shields and I, well, I wanted to explore in hand to hand combat, not with wands, you know, to an extensive point. And I was wond- wondering, if you might help me?"

Severus wanted to laugh at her childishness. Even if it was some form of relief that she could still stutter and be scared of things. Though he wouldn't expect that she would shy away from him, she still did. He chuckled and said, "well, depending on where you would like to begin and also depending on your level of action at this point in time we might be able to work something out so you may begin training in Martial Arts, along with some weight training and possibly some mind drills also. You should know by now that I could not deny you help in this, but the time it consumes will be lengthy. I would suggest no visits to the burrow and no periodical ice cream parties with a spoon. It would ruin all of the work you have achieved thus far.

"Thank you, And don't worry, I will attempt to stay away from both the ice cream, and parties with a spoon."

She smirked at him and then stood suddenly to retrieve the tea for the pot was currently mumbling that it was too hot.

In the living room Albus sat thinking about what to do with Harry. The boy was attempting to protect everyone, but that just couldn't happen. He knew that training was coming once the school term began. Yet he couldn't seem to grasp that he would not be able to succeed on his own. It was a team effort. The only thing that kept Dumbledore from interfering was the fact that Harry's powers were manifesting. That would be fearsome to behold if on the dark side, or for anyone that crossed Harry's path.

* * *

Yup, that was chapter one, Edited of course. So sorry if it posts an alert for anyone and its not a new chapter, this one was changed up a bit though, and i'm already started on chapter two, i'll try and have that up by next week.

Reviews and suggestions would be GREAT. and flames toO! i just like to know that people are actually reading this, or i might not continue it.. :(


	2. Chapter 2

**I know this one is short, but i've been busy and once school is out i'll be posting much more ;) Reviews w/ advice and what you guys want the story to turn out to be would be great ;) thanks!**

**Me**

* * *

Molly weasley gave a start as Harry appeared suddenly in her kitchen. He looked pale and dreadfully worried. "Harry dear! What's the matter?" She asked in a concerned voice. He only looked at her with eyes of anger, betrayal, and sorrow. She knew something bad had happened for him to look like that now. He had learned after sixth year that emotions could he his downfall. So he hid beneath his scar, and everything that people wanted to see, but right now, his mask was gone.

"It's Hermione. She's been taken, and I fear the worst."

"Who was she taken by?" Molly looked afraid as she said this, because she knew the answer.

He hissed out one word. "Snape." Molly knew that he was beyond angry and that there would need to be some type of distraction, or story to tell him so he didn't worry.

"Harry, It was all a role play. The professor cannot risk being discovered as a spy. There was a tip off that her family would be in danger, so Albus had someone go find her, and her parents were taken to a safe house not long after. Everything is going to be fine"

"But where is she? I need to see her, just to know she's alright."

Molly stated, "well she's at headquarters of course! Where else would she go?"

"Right, to headquarters."

_**At headquarters….**_

"No! You must put force into it! If there is no passion behind the curse, it will not be nearly as destructive! Now, try it again and imagine an enemy in my place."

Hermione was struggling with the dark curses that Severus had been drilling into her head for the past few hours. She had insisted on getting straight to work. There was no time for lingering or putting things off where she was concerned.

"Alright, alright. God! I'm trying okay! Its weird having to practice something I've been taught to hate my entire life."

"Well, Hermione, you must learn to conquer these things. They are fears whether you realize it or not. Defeat those, and you will be unbeatable. Now, Again"

Hermione began casting a barrage of spells that would put even Dumbledore to shame, even though he would never cast such spells. First a slicing hex, one that barely missed Snape's neck, then, a curse that summoned a samurai blade. This caught Severus off guard. She caught it in her hand and turned, whipping her robes around her elegantly. She paused momentarily in a offensive position before lifting the sword to begin her attack. Hermione pulled up from her stance and swung towards his ankles. He quickly leaped over the offending blade and landed gracelessly while looking at her still with wide eyes. She then arched the sword behind her as she twisted, and its path ended with the blade against his neck. She looked at him with fire in her eyes.

This was something he did not expect from her at all. And by looking at her face now, she had decided the same.

Slowly she lowered the sword and with a wave of her hand, it was gone.

"Severus. I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me. It was like someone else was fighting for me. I.. I didn't mean…"

He interrupted and said, "Good. Yes very good. But next time, don't go for the ankles its too easy to parry. I only have two questions. How did you know to fight in that manner, and do you understand what that particular sword represents?"

She only shook her head and whispered "I don't know. I didn't even think. Is there something wrong with me?"

Severus replied, "There is nothing remotely wrong with you at all; your powers are emerging as you are soon to become of age, that is the only thing going on. Though how you managed to summon that particular sword I do not know. It is a sword of Slytherin. And you, Hermione are no Slytherin.

Just then, they heard the sound of someone apparating into the house. Not long after an angry Harry Potter burst through the door with a look of rage on his face. It took a minute for him to register that Hermione was standing, and there was no harm done to her. Still he said, "Snape, you need to watch your step; I know you're on our side, but putting a knife to her throat is no way to prove it. Hermione, could I talk to you for a bit?"

Without waiting for a reply Harry moved out of the doorway and left for the kitchen, Hermione followed right after him. When she walked into the kitchen she saw Harry pacing the floor, deep in thought. He started immediately with questions. "Why did you have to go? I mean, I don't understand what is going on, first, you've been doing all of this running, and I see you in your room doing stuff like, working out. I thought you liked to study? What's going on with you?"

Her reply was blatantly, "you wouldn't understand. So I'm not going to tell you anything, other than its for the Order, until it unfolds more. Please Harry, Just leave it alone." She quickly exited the room to avoid more questioning.

Harry dejectedly sat down to watch the pot of tea start to boil. He couldn't comprehend what was going on with her. She had changed. All of her habits were twisting, and he didn't like that at all. They needed Hermione, he and Ron, and to have the constant that was the know-it-all Granger disappear would be disastrous.

**_In Dumbledore's quarters…_**

He had to think of a plan to prepare her. She wouldn't be ready if she went back to her studies when school started. Even though she could already pass the NEWTS with out revision and was more talented with her knowledge than any of the other students. 'Yes.' He thought. 'It's brilliant; all we have to do is make a few excuses and get in touch with Moody.'

That night after dinner in his room, Severus felt a familiar pain in his left forearm. The Dark Lord was calling. Immediately he went to his wardrobe and pulled out the dull black robe along with his death eater mask. He then hurried out of the house to apparate.

Appearing in front of the dark lord was something that thoroughly disgusted Snape to no end. Bowing low before him, and kneeling to kiss the hem of his robes was never the way to enjoy a greeting. Neither was getting hit with a round of the cruciatus curse for no apparent reason. Severus leaned to 'kiss his feet' but instead heard Voldemort's voice call out, "my son, Severus, do not bow take this seat on my right side, we have many things to discuss and many plans for the weeks ahead.

Their conversation continued on the topic of the oncoming battle's that Voldemort would be planning, and how to kill the one and only Harry Potter. Severus later turned the topic to Hermione.

"My Lord, I have some information that could be of great use to you. The little mudblood of Potters knows of my loyalty to you.." at the elder mans dark look he continued, " but it is not to be taken negativly. She would like to join us. The twit ever tires of being considered a side-kick and a bookworm. She wants revenge on the pothead," he said this with amusement, and then finished with,"shall I send Lucius to begin to test her?"

The Dark lord's eyes held a mischevious glint as he spoke, "indeed Severus, do send Lucius after her, but keep it subtle, and leave no doubt that she is with us. I would like to meet this Mudblood of the 'golden trio' soon."


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so here's chapter three. Sorry it took so long. I had AP college work to do. So I was swamped! I hope you like it. And remember to review! If anyone is still out there!**

**The weird one.. aka the Author!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Training with Severus was ever an easy task. Each day it became more rigorous and stressful. They had moved on to offensive Dark arts during the past week, and it was difficult because Hermione couldn't speak parseltongue, and most of the spells were spoken that way. She was advancing though, because of her extensive reading on the subject. And she was in no way tentative towards the more gruesome curses.

The physical training he put her through was extensive. She had already, in a few short days mastered the blade. Though her skills were not perfected, it would be something that Death Eaters would never expect from a mere 'child.' Who had not even finished her education yet.

The efforts put in by both teacher and student, were more than the Headmaster could hope for. They were working together well, with only a few quarrels to interrupt the so called 'peace.' If anyone could call preparing for battle through deception, peace. The extra study she threw herself into was barely keeping her up to task. She hadn't slept for more than three hours a night. And when she did sleep, it was restless. Dreams of events soon to pass covered the older, more comfortable dreams of her past.

0

The floor was currently cleared of all weight machines and weaponry. Instead of a chaotic set, she had transfigured the floor to be a soft pale-stripped wood on which she danced. The feel of the shoes beneath her feet hinted at a long divest. She danced with no music that could be heard in the open. The only sound was an occasional pat of her Pointe shoes on the floor. Arms splayed with fluid direction and feet with quiet defiance. She was so into the emotion of the dance that she never noticed Severus sidle the room. He stayed in shadow and watched in silent amazement as the young woman turned a pirouette and continued on with tears streaming down her face. Now Severus knew why she had been so agile, and had learned the fluidity that was required with the blade. Dancers always made amazing fighters. And was she a dancer? He stepped out only when she fell to the ground and banged the floor with her fists and cried out. "Why does it have to be this way? It's not fair!"

Severus crossed the room and bent down beside her. "Hermione, this is no way to fix things, come, I know it seems easier to succumb to our sorrows but we must continue to prepare. I have set a meeting with Lucius for later this week. Also, the Dark Lord is anxious to meet you, so you must be prepared." He looked at her with a confused glance as her tears continued to fall. She whispered, "There's no going back now is there?" He left her with a sympathetic glance and a whispered, 'no.'

Hermione was now in a rage, nothing could stop her now. The thought of coming face to face with Lucius Malfoy after everything that had happened in the Department of Mysteries made her want to tear him limb from limb. So she was now working intensely. Already having gone through her kick boxing routine mixed with stretches, she had moved on to the endurance part of her training. The gym now contained many muggle weight machines and also the treadmill on which Hermione was currently running. This was always her favorite part of training because when she ran the stress was gone. Even though it was physically strenuous, her body had to use all of its concentration to keep the pace steady and her breathing slow and deep, so she didn't really think about anything but her heartbeat and the patter of her tennis shoes on the rubber.

Hermione was pulled from her reverie as Severus re-entered the 'gym' after his break.

"Hermione, are you well? Have you gotten any rest at all this past week? You seem over-exhausted. You can't continue working this way, its killing you." Hermione looked up to see him close the door quietly. She then stepped off of the machine and threw a towel around her sweaty back and sat down at a weight bench to cool off. "I've probably been up since four or so, I couldn't sleep so I thought, 'why waste time?' And I went to bed at around eleven so I got a few hours, not too many but I don't like to sleep a lot. It's like I said, wasting time, precious time that I could be using to get stronger, and build up my defenses. Besides, you know that once I'm up I don't take a break. My dancing," she blushed at this, "is only a habit I can't break. I've been doing that since I was old enough to walk."

"I understand, but if you do not rest, your defenses can't be strong because your body will start concentrating on gaining rest no matter what your head is doing. Now, I thought that for the remainder of today we would take a break from physical work and you can get to study some theory. After that comes the difficult part." He grimaced at his next words. "We have to have some lessons for you on pureblood etiquette. I've found someone in one of the pureblood villages to shape you up in that area. So I think after you've had a proper lunch and gotten some study time in I will take you there and leave you with her for a few hours. Shower up, and please, Miss Granger, do attempt to look decent."

Severus hastily left the room and retreated to his quarters. As he dropped onto the sofa he wondered to himself, 'what have I gotten myself into?'


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So this is just a teeny tiny filler to get myself started again with this story. I have about 6 more chapters written but life has just been crazy and i wasn't even thinking about posting anymore of it until a friend asked me to. So all for my bestie Slytherin4Harry ;). I'll try and start posting more chapters regularly now. And if i don't, you guys keep me in line! **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Two months later…

The war against Voldemort had progressed to the breaking point. The Minister of Magic because of his lack of optimism for the inevitable upcoming of an all out war had been removed from office. Fudge still refused to accept the fact that an all-powerful Dark Lord had returned. While not able to ignore the fact that Tom Riddle was again at large, The, no longer, Minister simply viewed him as a not so 'large' at large minion as he had been considered seventeen years ago.

He was knocked from his high position simply by a humble ministry worker by the name of Robert Langley. The new Minister Langley had previously held place in the Foreign Relations branch of the Ministry. Being a man, secretly yet moderately, involved with the Order of the Phoenix put the side of the Light at an advantage. He had immediately placed an order for Trials of Loyalty into play which had been ongoing for the past six weeks in an attempt to de-corrupt the ministry's force.

0

Severus was not ever one to worry about other people, yet somehow it turned out that he had come to worry especially about the health and well-being of none other than his partner in crime, Hermione Granger.

Somehow she had made it far enough in her 'game' to survive etiquette training from Molly Weasley. It had come as a shock for Hermione when he apparated them both to the burrow, instead of some rich, fancy, stuck up snob-of-a pureblood's manor. Severus had nearly loved the look on her face. The reaction was better than he had expected.

Hermione would never again cross Molly in the ways of dining, cooking, presentation, and fashion. Molly had spent the better part of two weeks re-teaching her how to walk, talk, breathe, eat, and dress. The change was staggering at the end of her 'training.' Hermione had emerged after the first day completely irritated and astonished at the 'archaic' views of pureblood society, but had eventually surrendered to her mission rather than set up yet another protest.

After those two weeks, Hermione and a very glamoured Severus Snape had spent an amusing two days and over 3,200 Galleons on a new wardrobe for the coming spy to be. And after two months of rigorous mental, physical, magical, and emotionally controlling training, She was ready to begin delving into the unknown world of dark magic and attempting to beseech a position in the loyal circle of the most powerful dark wizard of all time.

* * *

**See, i told you, short as HELL. Just let me know if you think i should continue. I know i've got one fan. and thats enough but i'd like to hear from everybody. Thanks again!**


	5. Chapter 5

"you cannot let your guard down! Pay attention and try and block my advance!" Severus hissed the spell again and delved back into the task of ripping apart hermione's mental defenses. 

Hermione attempted yet again to throw up a barrier against Severus' barrage attack. This time she built a replica of Hogwarts multinous library and imagined all of her most important memories locked away in the restricted section with Madame Pince sitting inconspicuously at her desk, wand at her side. Sorted by relevence all of Hermiones memories pushed themselves as books into the shelves that reached from floor to ceiling. The good thing about this strategy, was Severus simply felt as if he were walking through one of Hermione's many memories of studying in the dusty old room.

Severus pulled out of her mind and his face held a look of restrained satisfaction. 

"Finally. That was an acceptable strategy. I would urge you to organize your thoughts and memories a little differently but overall I could not even tell that I was in the midst of your totem."

Hermione looked up to see his half smile quickly disappear into the thin lines of his face, but realized that she had finally made progress. She uttered a simple "thank you" and relaxed into a chair that she had summoned at the beginning of their mental lesson.

Severus turned to open the door and looked back to see Hermione sitting in his favorite chair with her eyes closed, whispering something to herself nonsensically. He watched her for a few seconds until she opened her eyes and looked back at him tiredly. 

"why don't you go get cleaned up and meet me back here to talk over some tea in, say, twenty minutes?" He questioned, and after her slow nod, turned finally and walked out, closing the door behind him with a clinical 'snap.'

As soon as Severus left the room Hermione slumped back down in her chair, her heart in mid-battle against her chest. This was becoming too much. Though she knew it was only beginning. She was proud of herself for catching on in the art of occlumency as fast is she did, but she also realized that the hardest part was yet to come; learning to disguise true memory underneath falsified memor. But she realized that the adrenaline that was still pumping would help with overcoming the fear of meeting with Lucius, and eventually in protecting her mind from Voldemort himself. It was a frightening thought, knowing that one day she would stand in the midst of death eaters, and almost inevitably become one herself. At the same time, in doing so, she would take her place in helping to save the wizarding world. 

She picked herself up out of her seat, and stealthily made her way back to her quarters. She quickly took a shower and as soon as she stepped out, looked into the mirror in disgust at her appearance. It would take a lot of work to get THAT head of hair to lay down today. There was just too much humidity for its liking. 

After fifteen minutes of conditioners, gels, and flattening spells Hermione's hair was laying in long waves down her back. "Definitely not something I want to bother with everyday," she mumbled as she walked down the stairs. She'd thrown on a pair of old GAP jeans and a white tank top. 'This is going to eat me alive' she thought to herself. She still had no idea what they would be discussing after her evening of 'training' so that made the stress that much more. 

0

Severus stepped out of his bedroom, which was located on the top floor of Order Headquarters. He was slightly irritated at Dumbledore for suggesting that Hermione have the rest of the night 

off from training. It took a rigorous schedule to get her where she currently was, and to his standards, she was still not up to par.

Despite all of Severus' labored and intense arguments in favor of keeping to that planned schedule, Albus had requested that he spend some time with Hermione, assisting her in revisions for her NEWT's which set her back even further in relation to meeting with The Dark Lord.

She didn't know it yet, but because of her hopefully, soon to be status, Dumbledore had planned for Hermione to sit as many of her NEWT level exams three weeks before the start of her seventh year term. That way, if she did become more involved with the Order and service for the Dark Lord, she would not be struggling in her classes. Severus knew that she could sit the exams with no revision, at this very moment, and score as high if not higher than if she did do revisions. He also grudgingly realized that she could also beat his scores, a fact that he found utterly annoying. He let himself have a small smile, barely touching the corners of his lips. She was most likely going to be the smartest cleverest witch to have walked the halls of Hogwarts only excluding Rowena Ravenclaw herself. 

He entered the kitchen and asked Dobby to quickly set up the tea things in the living room, then walked to the aformentioned room and pulled a few of his books off of the shelf and sat down on the sofa to await the arrival of one completely irritating yet enrapturing young woman.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys, I just wanted to thank everyone for reviewing and adding me to their alerts list! I know there has been a big gap in between posts but I hope I'm able to fix that soon.**

* * *

Hermione walked into the sitting room to see Severus lounging quietly while flipping pages in a potions textbook. He looked up as she walked over the threshold and closed his book with an audible 'snap' as she took a seat on the sofa across from him.

"What is it that you needed to talk about Severus?" She questioned lightly; hoping that they would be continuing their discussion about Occlumency.

"The Headmaster has suggested that I speak with out about the option of sitting your N.E.W.T.'s before the start of term this year." He took a breath to gage Hermione's reaction and saw a quirk of an eyebrow not unlike his own and continued.

"I know It seems like short notice, but Albus and I both believe that you are more than capable of passing with adequate scores within the next two weeks. The term begins in four weeks and I am willing to give you a week for revision time with no work outs or practices outside of your occlumency lessons if you see this as an option?"

Hermione's reaction was a myriad of emotion that crossed her face in a short span of time. First confusion, then slight panic, and finally a one sided smile at Severus' compliment.

"So I'd only have a week of revisions?" She asked this question in all seriousness, as if it were a truly disturbing suggestion on his part.

"Yes you would have a full week, but really, you could sit every one of your exams tomorrow and pass with an O without a problem. You do need to realize that this is not just because you are smart, it is because you will not have the time to put towards your studies like you used to." He sighed, then continued, "There are times when you may not even be stable enough to attend classes."

She looked at him with trepadition, then, slowly nodded her head. Just then, Dobby stumbled into the room carrying the tea things and scurried over to put them on the table at Severus' feet and then scampered back out the door without a noise. Having set a lighter mood, Hermione set about adding sugar and cream to their tea and handing Severus the saucer with his cup, no sugar, only cream. She took her own and settled back into the couch.

Severus went back to his book, though he didn't really read any of it. He was thinking about how difficult his life, and Hermione's life, was about to get. He had set up a meeting between her and Lucius Malfoy for the week after term started. They would meet on neutral ground at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade on the first Saturday night. He hadn't told Hermione yet, just wanting her to concentrate on her N.E.W.T.'s and to finish her occlumency training without any distractions.

Suddenly there was a loud noise coming from the kitchen and Hermione jumped off of the couch and poked her head around the corner of the sitting room to see what had happened, and she saw Harry, Ron, and Ginny stumbling over eachother covored in soot from the floo. Harry looked up at her and grinned lopsidedly and Ron let out a guffawed "hullo!" Ginny just shook her head and walked over to give Hermione a big hug.

"How have you been?" Ginny asked comfortably. "I've been fantastic, I just found out that I'm taking my N.E.W.T.'s early so I can have an easy year this year, helping out with the Order and all, I don't want to be too busy, I mean, it's our seventh year!" Hermione breathed, and grinned back towards Harry and Ron. Ginny pulled a face that showed her obvious dismay at having to remain another year at Hogwarts without her two friends and her elder brother.

Harry suddenly pipe up, "So I've been thinking about some things, do you guys want to head upstairs to Sirius' room and talk for a little bit? There is supposed to be an Order meeting tonight but I want to talk to you guys first."

Everyone nodded and headed up to the third floor; sure enough as soon as they hit the landing, they could hear the rush of the floo again down in the kitchen signaling Order members arriving hoping to catch an early dinner.

Harry pulled them all into the room and plopped down onto the musty smelling bed. "so I've been thinking," Harry started. "that we should ask to be inducted formally into the order as full members. What do you guys think about that?"

The looks that met him made Harry chuckle a little. "I know it's not as if we don't learn everything somehow anyway, but I want to be in on the plans. I'm the one who eventually has to kill that bastard so why not let us in on what they are planning. Besides, we are capable of learning things that some of the professors aren't, especially during term, when no one else is around." Everyone but Hermione nodded their heads in approval; while no one else seemed to notice, her expression was of slight panic. She and Severus had been readying to tell the Order officially of their plan, now they wouldn't be able to do that without risking exposure. It would have to remain between she, Severus, and Dumbledore.

With a sigh she spoke up, "that sounds like a brilliant idea Harry, I'd been thinking about that myself. It does make sense too, I mean, i'm technically of age so I could join anyway, but you and Ron, sorry Ginny, both will be reaching your majority within the next few months anyway. There is no way Mrs. Weasley could keep you two from joining. The only work will be with getting them to induct Ginny as well.

At the Order meeting that night it was agreed that all four of them would formally join the Order when the school term began. Ron and Harry were slightly put off that Dumbledore had insisted on inducting Hermione that night though, under the guise that she and Snape were working on some potions research, and that they felt she would need the information as to why they were developing such potions.

After dinner and saying goodbyes to everyone not residing at headquarters for the rest of the summer, Hermione bid everyone goodnight and went up to the gym, warded the doors against everyone but Severus and pulled out her dance bag. She was in for some relaxation that a bubble bath just could not bring her at the moment.

No one seemed to notice that Hermione was missing except for Severus himself, and he knew exactly where she had gone. When he walked into the side room off of their private gym 

he found Hermione still doing her stretches at the high bar. He thought it silly that she always danced in point shoes while in a pair of sweat pants that were pulled up to her calves and an old T-shirt. He knew for a fact that she had with her the proper outfit for her leaping about all the time on her toes.

He quickly schooled his expression and spoke silkily into the quiet room, " You know, you could be doing better things with your time, child." Hermione looked up at him and gave an impish grin before continuing with her ronde jambe's. Looking at a high spot in the wall she pulled away from the bar and did a graceful turn across the floor and landed infront of him with her feet spread gracefully in a wide second position. She giggled and then fell gracelessly onto the floor still laughing. He conjured a chair and sat down in it without ever turning around. Hermione poked him with the box of her pointe shoe and he grabbed her ankle and slowly pulled the shoe off.

"I have yet to see the attraction to such a shoe to your feet." Severus smirked; Hermione simply pulled her other foot back and let him remove her left shoe before sitting back in an indian style position. Figuring he would want to talk.

"Those two idiot boys really should learn to stop feuding all of our plans." He muttered, looking cross for a moment before standing and beginning to pace the floor.

"It makes sense for them to join Severus." Hermione quirped with a sad smile. "Even though they have no idea what they are getting themselves into. You know we can't make this public knowledge for the Order now right? We'll have to continue in secrecy, and I don't know if I can do that."

With a raised eyebrow Severus looked over at her and shrugged, "you will just have to hone in your acting skills and get through it; speaking of which, we really need to get you into gear, at the last meeting the Dark Lord mentioned me setting up a meeting between you and Lucius Malfoy to see if you are worthy to 'welcome into the fold,'" Severus sneared and looked on to the wall before turning to walk to the door. He stopped in the door way and looked to Hermione's gaze, "you should really be studying right now, or getting some sleep you know?" Without another word he swept around the corner and a few seconds later Hermione heard the door to the gym close with a 'click' behind him.

Hermione let out an inaudible sigh, and picked up her things to head back to her rooms. She had no idea how Severus could be so friendly and kind at one moment, and then irate and aloof the next. Closing and warding the door behind her, Hermione headed up another flight of stairs to her room. Pulling off her t-shirt an sweats she climbed into bed for some much needed sleep.

_Ok, so i'm almost half way done with Chapter 7, and i'm anticipating a LOT longer chapter, i just couldn't wait to get this part up, and it didn't really mesh with the next chapter. Hopefully a little action will ensue? hint I hope you guys enjoyed! so..._

_REVIEW! _

_and thanks again you guys are awesome. :D_


End file.
